


Left Behind

by Eternal Scribe (Shadowcat)



Category: Women of the Otherworld - Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-01
Updated: 2011-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-14 07:58:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/147087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcat/pseuds/Eternal%20Scribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happened with Leah and Savannah between the time Elena escaped and when Elena and the others came back to raid the Genesis Project Compound in "<i>Stolen</i>"?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Left Behind

There had been no time for her to get to the elevator between fighting the guards and calling for Leah. When she turned the corner, she saw the elevator doors closing and heard Leah yelling that she was. She didn't know what Leah was doing, because all she seemed to be doing was standing in front of the elevator and shouting.

"Elena? Elena!" she had cried out and ran to the elevator herself, pounding on them. "Come back! Elena, come back! Don't leave me here!"

Leah tried to grab her and protect her from the angry guards coming their way, but she was so upset that even as Leah lifted her up and turned, she cast a knock-back spell at the closest guard-- throwing him into his friends. Leah started running down the hall with her and then someone yanked her out of her arms.

"No! Don't you hurt her!" That was Leah's voice.

Savannah struggled and then screamed when she felt the needle go into her neck. "Leah..." she managed to say softly before she collapsed.

 

When Savannah woke up, she was back in her cell. Leah was sitting in the chair next to her bed. "Leah?" Her throat hurt and her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

"Hey, kid," she said softly. "You had me worried. "You were out for a few hours and I thought they may have overdosed you with those damned sedatives they shot you up with."

"Water?"

Leah moved to the table and then sat down on the bed to help her up. "Drink it slow."

"What happened?"

"You went bezerk, hun. Lost control of your powers again and caused some chaos. The people in charge are pretty pissed, Savannah."

"Pissed at me?" Savannah's mind was confused from whatever they had sedated her with. "What did I do?"

"You killed a lot of their people, Savannah."

Savannah went pale. "I...I did?"

"Yeah. You lost control and just started casting spells."

"What about Elena?"

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but she bailed on us. While you were killing people, she decided to use you as way to escape beneath the radar."

"She left me here?"

"Afraid so, hun. She's long gone. There's only me and you now."

Savannah had tears in her eyes that she was desperately trying to fight. "Leah... they're going to kill me, now, like they did my mom, aren't they?"

Leah shook her head, reaching for the younger girl's hand. "No, I swear they won't, Savannah," Leah said quietly. "I'll take care of you -- won't let anyone hurt you. As soon as I can find a way, we'll get the hell out of here."

Savannah shook her head, tears sliding down her face. "Of the last three people who promised to get me out of here, two are dead and one is long gone. I don't want to see anyone else I like get killed because they're trying to help me. We're stuck here, Leah. Stuck here until they decide what to do with us."

"If you cooperate with them... do what they want, maybe they'll see they have no reason to hurt us... to take me away from you, too."

The twelve year felt completely trapped... and alone. "You're saying if I be their good little witch slave... let them turn me into their weapon they'll have no reason to hurt us."

"If you do what they say, they won't kill every friend you make in here... they won't hunt you. You know about the hunts, Savannah. You know what they do to the ones that don't satisfy them. I don't want you to end up on those killing fields -- running from their dogs and their guns."

Savannah's face was pale. "My mother would never have wanted me to be a weapon..."

"Oh sweetie, I know. But your mom is dead and I bet she wouldn't want you to be taken out to their hunting grounds either. She'd want you to do whatever you had to do to stay alive."

"I don't like the idea of being a witch slave," she said quietly.

"I don't like the idea of you being dead, Savannah. I'm your friend and I want you to stay alive." Leah gave a sad smile. "I promise you, I'll take care of you."

Savannah swallowed. "You really think that will work? If I decide to cooperate and do what they want, do you think they'll leave us alone and not hurt anyone else?"

Leah nodded. "I do. Do you really want to take the risk of going the other way; of you or I ending up dead?"

The younger girl shook her head. "No," she said softly. "I don't want that."

"Then you'll do what they want?"

Savannah nodded. "I'll work with them and do what they want me to do."

 

Savannah spent the next few days with the lab people, running through tests and reading through document after document of things they wanted her to learn or to accomplish. Leah was allowed to stay close to her and every time she wanted to lose her temper or refuse to take part in any of this insanity, Leah would remind her what would happen if she didn't cooperate with them. Always whispering in her ear how her disobedience would result in death. Constantly hammering home that she was the reason her friends had died. Always wearing down her reluctance to become what Project Genesis wanted her to become.

It was a hard thing for Savannah. She was this powerful witch who would come into more and more power as she got older and learned control, but she was still only a twelve year old girl. She didn't want this. She didn't want to be a captive who would get everyone around her killed. More importantly, she wasn't ready to die, either.

But, she also knew that Leah was right. She was the reason that her mother and Ruth had been killed. She was the reason others here had disappeared or been killed. If she had just done what they wanted from the beginning... maybe she wouldn't have lost control of her powers and Ruth would still be alive. Leah kept reminding her why it had happened and she didn't want it to happen again.

It hurt so much knowing that you were responsible for the deaths of those closest to you because you couldn't adjust. It made her guilt so much more than she let on.

Late afternoon one day after going through what seemed like endless tests and discussions, Savannah was back in her cell meditating. Well, she *told* them she was meditating. What she was really doing was trying to contact somebody... anybody. Ruth had told her it was something she would be able to do and so, she figured right now was a good time to start trying. She needed to find somebody to get her and Leah out of this place alive. Since Leah was wanted elsewhere, she had some quiet, alone time, to try and make this work.

Leah would be angry at her for risking herself like this, but she had to at least try to do something. How long would it be before the leaders of Genesis decided that they didn't need Leah around any longer to keep Savannah in line? How long before they sent Leah off somewhere else and took away the only real friend she had left in here? She couldn't afford to wait.

Ruth... Ruth hadn't been able to teach her how to exactly do this before her death, but Savannah had listened and she had the basic idea of what was supposed to happen. She would relax and reach out with her mind. Somehow her power would find a connection with someone else who had power and she could talk to them.

It sounded easy. It sounded a lot easier than she knew it probably was, but it was all she had right now.

She sat crosslegged in the middle of her bed and did the breathing exercises Ruth had told her about. She had to make herself be completely relaxed and then clear her mind of any worries that she was holding onto right now.

She had just started relaxing and getting herself focused when she heard a commotion outside and her cell door opened. She poked her head out carefully and saw a group of people at the end of the hall... including a welcomed sight of blonde hair.

"Elena!" she shouted, running to her. "I knew you'd come back!"


End file.
